Karen King's Wine Pairings:
Vouvray Sec "Clos du Bourg," Gaston Huet (Loire, France) 1998
Chassagne-Montrachet, Premier Cru, "Champ-Gains," Marc Colin (C™te de
Beaune, Burgundy) 1993
A rich Chardonnay, like the Chassagne-Montrachet, works with the sweet
pumpkin and butter in the dish, on the like with like principle.
Here is a comforting risotto, perfect for a brisk autumn or
winter day. While many recipes for pumpkin risotto call for diced pumpkin
simmered in chicken broth, we use a sweet-spiced pumpkin broth to capture
the elusive and delicate pumpkin flavor.
Yield: Serves 6
For the pumpkin broth:
- 1 Tablespoon
butter
- 1 medium
onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 carrots,
peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 celery
stalk with leaves, washed and sliced
- 1 leek,
washed and thinly sliced, white and light green parts only
- 2 cups
canned pumpkin puree
- 8 cups
chicken stock
- 1 bay
leaf
- 1/2
teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 4 allspice
berries
- 1/4
teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4
cinnamon stick
- 2 Tablespoons
pure maple syrup
For
the risotto:
- Ø cup
olive oil
- 1 3/4
cups arborio rice
- 1 1/2
cups diced (1/2 inch) fresh pumpkin, butternut, or other firm-fleshed
squash
- 1/2
cup dry white wine
- 6-7
cups pumpkin broth
- 1 Tablespoon
minced fresh sage
- 2 cups
arugula, washed and chopped
- 1/3
cup diced fresh mozzarella
- 1 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 1/4
teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- 1/4
cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3/4 ounce)
- 3 teaspoon
butter
In a large
saucepan or stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion,
carrots, celery and leek; sautŽ until tender and moist, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the pumpkin purŽe and continue cooKKing for 2-3 minutes. Add
the chicken stock, bay leaf, spices, and maple syrup. Reduce the heat
and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh
strainer. To avoid ending up with a thick purŽe rather than a broth,
take care not to mash the vegetables through the strainer.
In the same saucepan, heat the pumpkin broth to a simmer.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a separate, 3-quart heavy saucepan
or skillet. Toss in the rice and diced pumpkin and stir with a wooden
spoon until coated with oil. Add the white wine and stir constantly
until all the wine has been absorbed by the rice. Ladle 1/2 cup of hot
pumpkin broth into the pan and stir until it is absorbed. Continue with
the rest of the broth, adding 1/2 cup at a time and letting each addition
be absorbed completely into the rice before adding more liquid. The
constant stirring allows the rice to release its starch into the cooKKing
liquid, resulting in the characteristic risotto creaminess. The grains
of rice should be al dente. Count on approximately 20-25 minutes for
the rice to cook.
Finish
by stirring in the sage, arugula, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and half
the Parmigiano. Swirl in the butter. Spoon into warm bowls, sprinkle
with the remaining Parmigiano and serve immediately.
Recipe from The Union Square Cafe Cookbook, by Danny
Meyer and Michael Romano (HarperCollins, 1994)
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